Abstract

With the thesis «Without a frame there is no landscape» I suggest to draw attention to the praxis of a relationship to nature that comes into play when we look at a part of nature as landscape. It is discussed why it should be ascribed neither completely to the realm of a concept which alone constitutes landscape nor to a completely concept-free mode of acting and seeing. Instead, the framing of landscape must be linked to a quite particular praxis: boundaries must be drawn, details defined, materials selected and formed – paper, wood, plants, paving. The frame theory suggests three forms of landscape all being «really constructed». The practical significance of framing is discussed using the example of Kant’s landscaped garden, Humboldt’s landscape, and Greenaway’s cinematic garden drawings. It is shown that, for the time being at least, we will not be able to escape the mode of framed landscape.